Former Cyclone Gita Lashes New Zealand’s South Island

The Takaka Hill is pictured after the storm Gita hit New Zealand, in this still image taken from a drone footage from February 20, 2018 obtained from social media. James Thomas via REUTERS

At least 5,000 people in New Zealand’s South Island were cut off by massive landslips and hundreds of tourists stranded on Wednesday after former cyclone Gita whipped through the country, sparking a state of emergency in several southern towns.

Torrential rains from Gita, which was downgraded on Tuesday from a tropical cyclone to storm, lashed the center of New Zealand, causing floods in the city of Christchurch and other provinces.